About Ashish Agrawal
Ashish Agarwal, Director of Operational Technology at Agco, discussed the role of visibility in OT cybersecurity in an October 2024 appearance. He described visibility as a "foundational piece" of a cybersecurity program, stating that without knowing how many OT devices an organization has, it cannot produce solutions for connectivity or protection. Agarwal noted that three years prior, his organization began its cybersecurity journey with no knowledge of its OT devices and started by manually collecting data in a spreadsheet. He identified legacy technology as a challenge to attaining visibility, explaining that 15- to 20-year-old machines that work perfectly cannot communicate with current protocols, requiring solutions to convert their data. Agarwal also highlighted the next challenge as IoT devices embedding 5G adapters that vendors want direct open internet access to for maintenance, which his organization addresses by enforcing firewall routes and not allowing direct 5G or 4G connections.
In a September 2023 appearance at the ET Annual Gas Conclave, Agarwal, then Managing Director & CEO of Seros Logistics, praised the event for its relevant speakers and diverse topics. He stated that hearing different perspectives and sharing one's own perspective, along with audience engagement, makes an event successful. Agarwal expressed excitement about a panel on opportunities of 60 billion dollars in the space, noting that it allows for holistic decision-making by hearing everyone's views rather than taking decisions in silos.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Ashish Agrawal's recent appearances.
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Transcript (8 segments)
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Interviewer0:00
Hello, we are here with Mr. Ashish Agrawal from Saras Energy. Hello sir, can you please share your experience? How was it attending the ET Energy World Annual Gas Conclave?
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Ashish Agrawal0:10
I think it was very, very interesting. The good part is that any conference or event that we go to is really made up of two things: one is what kind of people are there, and secondly, what is the expert panel that is there. Very happy to see very relevant speakers and a diverse range of topics being covered. And you have very, very eminent people here. Mr. Saraf was here, and you had from the regulator side and the top people from all the relevant companies coming here. I think hearing the different perspectives, sharing your own perspective, and getting the right kind of audience involvement, engagement, and questions is what makes any event successful. I'm very happy with the way it has been planned together, and I definitely see this event as one event on any of the companies in this sector as a permanent, go-to event on their calendar.
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Interviewer1:11
Decision making in the upcoming gas industry and how it will shift focus to alternative fuels and more sustainable development?
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Ashish Agrawal1:20
Yeah, it's so that everyone comes together, so you're not taking decisions in silos. You have the benefit of hearing everyone's views and then finally shape your view. You also have the pulse of what people are seeing and thinking, and therefore when you go back, you have a very holistic perspective in your decision making at your organization. So in that sense, it's extremely helpful.
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Interviewer1:43
So is there any specific panel or speaker upcoming that you are looking forward to hear from?
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Ashish Agrawal1:49
I'm really excited to see about the one panel on opportunities of 60 billion dollars in this space, and that's something which I'm very excited about to hear what different people are seeing, where the investments are going to go into and come from.
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Interviewer2:06
Thank you so much for giving us your time.
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Ashish Agrawal2:08
Thank you.
